Running Away
by MaggieTheCatt
Summary: Things get more complicated and Will decides to leave Chicago and move to NYC to ignore Alicia. What would she do when she finds out? Set in the second half of season 5. Includes other characters but mostly about Will & Alicia.
1. Running Away

**This story is about how I want season 5 to end. It's set second half of the season 5. **

**This is my first story :) Thanks to lovely AW girls ****Talita and Karolina for their very helpful feedbacks and **Sabrina for storytelling tips :) Love u all!   
**Also many many thanks to Steffi for being so patient with me and beta reading this, you're the best! Hope you'll enjoy it!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the rights to these characters, they belong to CBS and Robert & Michelle King. I wish I did tho.**

* * *

**Chapter 1: Running Away**

After they had finished a meeting for Bishop's new case, Alicia was waiting for the elevator at L/G offices. Lockhart&Gardner and Florrick&Agos were working on the case together upon Bishop's request. She was exhausted; it had been a long day. Working around Will was more exhausting than rushing from court to court. Before all this, they had been able to work together no matter what had happened between them but now it was electrifying. When they were in the same room everyone was nervously looking at them, like waiting for a bomb to go off. The only thing they didn't know was that the bomb had already exploded a few days ago, starting with an angry kiss during a fight about the case leading to sex in the office. The tension was even worse now. She tried not to think about the intimate moments, closed her eyes and shook her head to get them out of her mind when the elevator's door opened.

All those moments were saddening to think about, knowing they were not going to be repeated. It made the distance between them harder to endure, and it seemed he didn't want to go forward this time; he was ignoring her whenever he could. She was sure that he was considering it a mistake. Kalinda rushed in before the doors closed. Their friendship was much better now; working together made them closer again, even though mending all of the broken pieces would still take some time.

Alicia smiled at her. Kalinda smiled back, and then started talking without looking at her.

"He's leaving"

"Who?"

"Will. He's leaving"

Alicia couldn't figure it out, what was she referring about?

"So am I Kalinda, as you can see" laughed softly rising her eyebrows, pointing out the obvious.

"No, he is leaving Chicago. For good. He is moving to NYC to manage the new L/G branch."

Alicia gulped.

"I... why... I mean… He…" she said, faltering. She couldn't get it together for a minute. Then she inhaled and looked at Kalinda.

"When?" It was all she could say.

"At the end of this month."

Alicia was having hard time processing the news. This didn't make any sense.

"Why?"

Kalida eyed her without answering, suggesting she knew why.

"I mean Chicago is everything to him." she said after a brief moment, trying to hide the true reason.

"You were everything to him Alicia." Kalinda's voice was sweet. "He can't bear being around you, it... hurts too much."

She shook her head in disbelief.

"No Kalinda, he moved on, living with his new girlfriend," she said with a little jealousy in her voice, rolling her eyes. "He doesn't want anything to do with me anymore. He's done. There must be another reason."

Kalinda smiled softly, her voice was full of understanding. She knew their story and how they really felt for each other, maybe Alicia could make herself believe that, but Kalinda didn't bought it. That's why Alicia always felt a little exposed around her, she was hard to fool.

"Alicia, come on. You know that's not true. He's running away like you did." she said, without hesitation and shrugging her shoulders.

The elevator stopped and the doors opened. Alicia couldn't move while Kalinda walked out of the elevator. Alicia called her name at the door and couldn't say anything more. Words stuck in her mouth. Kalinda turned back and looked at her, understanding what she was trying to say. How could she stop him?

"Talk to him Alicia. Just tell him you don't want him to leave."

Alicia's tongue was still tied with the shock. After a brief moment Kalinda smiled and said "I would ask for a shot at the bar together, like old times, but I have to be somewhere."

Alicia tried to smile back with a lot of sorrow in her eyes and nodded,

"Another time."

She leaned back to the elevator, watching Kalinda turning around and walking away. She didn't know how to process everything at once, took a moment alone, feeling paralyzed. Then she walked towards her car slowly, not noticing the surroundings around her, drowned in her feelings. When she got in the car, she inserted the key, but couldn't find the strength to turn it. She couldn't move or think, because ofallthe memories that were rushing through her head. His look, his touch, his kiss, his smell... and his anger. When she remembered how he looked at her the day she left L/G, so devastated by her actions and so broken, she couldn't hold it any more and broke into tears.

* * *

**_TWO MONTHS BEFORE_**

That night was the night everything started, before Kalinda told the breaking news to Alicia, before all this mess she created between two firms got even much worse. It was after New Year's and Alicia was working late at her office when Diane walked in. When she raised her head from the paperwork and noticed her, she was surprised and confused. She hadn't expectedher to come over, especially not in the middle of a war to get Bishop's account. She eyed her ex-mentor suspiciously.

"Diane, I...wasn't expecting you. What are you doing here?"

Diane had a serious look on her face and this made Alicia even more worried and curious.

"Alicia, we need to talk. Do you have a minute? This is important."

Alicia thought it must be a contra attack on L/G for Bishops' account and she probably wouldthreaten her about some cases she worked on for Bishop when she was an employee of Lockhart& Gardner.

"Is this about Bishop?" asked Alicia, smiling smugly and in her warrior mode. She leaned back in her chair self-confidently. She was expecting L/G to strike back after they stole the last case about Bishop's fitness centers from them. She was ready to blow whatever coming from them of and fight back.

"No." Diane didn't have any time for client wars. Alicia wasn't expecting this, she tried to sit more properly, changed her tone, started taking this seriously.

"I'm listening. What is this about?"

"Do you remember the case we handled for Mr. Marwat, the translator? They thought he was a terrorist."

Alicia was thinking about the case and trying to remember its details, since it was 3 years ago. She wasn't sure what is about.

"Yes, yes I do remember. But we cleared him, didn't we?"

It sounded weird, talking like a team again. They both tried to ignore it.

"Yes we did but... I got a tip from a personal contact that since then NSA have been listening, toyou and me, to get information about the client's terrorism connection."

Alicia looked at Diane, wide-eyed.

"I don't get it, it has been like 3 years now... How? Are they still..." She was much more surprised now. Things didn't make any sense.

"Yes they are. They also extended the listening chain this year. I have no idea why, but all of our contacts..."

Alicia was nearly shouting now as a thought appeared in her mind.

"Like Peter?"

Things were starting to become clearer now. She was breathing heavily and quickly, beginning to notice how big this was.

"And…" She lowered her voice, nearly whispering. "Will?" Noticing that all the personal conversations between them had been listened by the NSA was horrifying. Her secret was out.

But for Diane, this NSA thing wasn't just a threat for her, either, but everything she believed in. Alicia knew it and understood where her anger comes from.

"We need to fight this Alicia, this is stupid. We need to fight this together to win. And need Peter on our side. It's not just about you and me; it's about everyone we know. Also we both won't have any chance to represent Bishop if it gets out and you know it."

Alicia was frightened about this getting out; she needed to protect Peter from this. It had nothing to do with him, and if this got out, onlya little whisper about a connection with some terrorist case, it would destroy his public image.

"I don't want Peter to be involved, I don't want his Governorship to be hurt by this."

Diane knew that she needed Alicia, and she knew which subject she should mention to make her be on her side, the most vulnerable part of her, the scandal.

"If we don't fight this, he will be hurt one day. Somebody will start fishing and everything will be like... 5 years ago. Again."

Alicia took a moment to think. She knew that she never wanted to live everything all over again. All the press, everyone talking about them and their family, all the attention... The Kids. They would have to live through that hell again, which would be devastating. After everything Peter had done for her and for their family, she had to fight this even if she didn't like it. Evenif it meant working with the enemy. And Will. She took a deep breath, letting the logic talk.

"Let's do it." She sounded determined. But it wasn't that simple. If they were going to fight this together, they had to pause this client war and be a team again.

"Are the other partners...going to be OK with this?" Alicia asked.

They both knew it wasn't about the partners, it was about Will. Would he accept it?

"He has to be. This is bigger than all of it."


	2. The Wire Tape

**This story is back! It took me a lot of time to update it but I will publish more chapters soon ;) **

**The vote thing is a little different in my alternate universe :)) **

**I hope u all like it! Please let me know what you think with your reviews, it means a lot to me :))**

**Special thanks to Steffi for beta reading this 3**

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Alicia was waiting for Diane in the lobby of the NSA building. After she and Diane had decided to fight against the NSA, they went to court and got permission to listen to all of the tapes of them. They needed to show that they had no connection with this client for 3 years now and they were using this chance to get rid of the chain extension for listening. Also they were trying to find out why the extension had been granted in the first place.

When Damian appeared at the door, she smiled with irony. She wasn't happy to see him instead of Diane.

"Oh, of course, you again. Are they sending you to bug me?" She said, she didn't hesitate to let him know that she wasn't delighted to see him.

"Oh, now I'm hurt" replied Damian, pretending he got shot through his heart to annoy her more.

"Diane had to rush for a murder case and I don't know but I have a feeling that the other Lockhart Gardner partners don't like you as much as I do, especially Will and David."

Damien looked up like he didn't really know why, but of course he did.

"Odd. So I volunteered."

Alicia was looking annoyed and he was doing this on purpose.

"Why do you hate me so much?" he said, curling his lower lip.

Alicia forced a fake smile on her face:

"What makes you think that? Let's get this over with, shall we?"

Alicia and Damian went in separate rooms and started listening the NSA tapes of Diane and Alicia. Tapes were not just their phone calls but everyone's they knew. She was shocked by how much NSA have been sneaking into their lives. Another call started with a woman's voice she didn't recognize. Alicia tried to understand who she was, maybe a client she didn't remember? She sounded sweet.

"Hey you, what are you doing?"

"Working."

When Alicia noticed Will's voice, she took a deep breath. Her heart rate was rising.

"Don't tell me you are going to be working late again. Are you trying to make me miss you?" It was a call between Will and obviously a girlfriend. _"A girlfriend, he has a girlfriend"_ she thought. She didn't know why she was this surprised.

"Yes, that was the point! I think I'm succeeding, too." Will was flirting, like she remembered him being with her, his sweet voice on. Realizing it wasn't her he was flirting with hit her hard.

"Shut up and come home you work freak." Even Alicia didn't want to believe what she was hearing. They were obviously living together. Alicia was heading towards a breakdown. She took another deep breath. Will continued,

"There is this tough case I need to get ready for tomorrow about our some old client, I won't be too late, I promise."

"Is it against her again? Alicia? Aren't there any other lawyers in Chicago?"

The woman on the phone got a little serious when saying her name. Alicia noticed the tone. The woman knew who she was and about her past with Will. Then the tape stopped and a mechanic voice said "30 seconds break".

Alicia looked at the tape in disbelief, wanting to hear more. She remembered this execution, when the conversation becomes personal, tapes would have been stopped for 30 seconds.

Alicia tried to calm down, she couldn't believe how she was responding this news. Her body was shaking and her heart was beating so fast, she had no control over her body. When she decided leaving the firm, she thought she had been closing the door to her feelings and she needed to step away from him to get over it. She had believed it had just been the sexual tension because of their short relationship. Understanding she was so wrong took her unprepared, everything was still there, still strong. Not being around him didn't help a bit. She had no idea how to cope with her feelings now rushing into her head.

Tape started again with Will's voice, Alicia concentrated on the conversation;

"I know how to make it up to you, you can be sure about that. See you at home jealous lady."

"We'll see that, workaholic."

The tape ended, Alicia was shaken noticing he was moving on. She noticed that she actually didn't want him to. She somehow always thought that he would be waiting for her, her untaken path, her unrequited love, even after all that had happened. Still having feelings for him made everything worse, because she knew it was too late. Their possibilities being together went down to the drain in the moment he swiped her desk at L/G.

* * *

In the next room, Damian was listening another tape. He wasn't actually paying attention. He was bored, playing with a pen, turning it around in his fingers.

"Peter, what does Will have against you?" Even though Damian didn't recognize the voice, he understood that Peter was Alicia's husband, The Governor.

"Election fraud." Damian stood up from his chair. This definitely got his attention more than the pen. _"The other guy must be his campaign manager or something"_, he thought.

"Come on Peter, there is no such thing and you know it. We played.." Peter interrupted the guy on the tape.

"At the 59th district." The other guy stopped talking but his breath was louder.

Peter broke the silence "He has a tape."

"WHAT? How?" The other guy shouted.

Peter wasn't that worried, sounded very calm. "Probably Kalinda. Don't worry Eli, he can't use it due to client confidentiality, he knows he would lose his license."

Damien smiled. His smile was pure evil and it wasn't good news for Peter.

* * *

Will called Kalinda the second he saw the news about the election fraud tip.

"K, what is this?" He sounded angry but Kalinda didn't notice it. Answered in a playful tone.

"That is a jury list Will, you asked me to get it for you, remember?"

"Not that. Haven't you seen the news? Marilyn Garbanza is talking about a tip about a possible election fraud in the Chicago!"

Kalinda was shocked. "It can't be. I have it on my laptop, haven't le..." Kalinda stopped talking, figuring everything out.

"What?" Will's voice was not contented.

"I.. I'll call you back."

While swearing silently, Kalinda hung up the phone.

When the line went dead, Will angrily hit his hand on the desk. He knew it could lead to losing his license. It was a road he never wanted to go down again, because he knew he wouldn't survive this time.

Kalinda rushed to her car and drove to his place. Knocked hard on his door. Damian opened smiling in his boxers, they had spent the previous night together. When he noticed it was Kalinda back on his door, he started flirting.

"Oh, so you want me to make you a breakfast love. And I thought you are not the romantic type. You won't want to cuddle the next time, will you?"

Kalinda knew she got played, pushed him inside and stepped into the house.

"You know exactly why I am here" Kalinda said and added, mimicking his accent "Love".

* * *

After seeing the news, Will was expecting Peter's call. It didn't take long. When he saw the number, he took a deep breath to calm down. He answered the phone in a calm and determined voice. As he guessed, Peter threatened him about getting his license canceled. Will tried to explain he had nothing to do with this. He told him if he wanted to leak it, he would have done it months ago, when Alicia left the firm. But now, he didn't care a bit about him or anybody else involved. Peter didn't believe him, but Will could notice from his voice that he was relieved to learn Will didn't care about Alicia anymore. That was what he really wanted to know, if their story had ended.

Even Will didn't believe himself saying it, it was what he wanted to believe.


End file.
